This exercise serves as your final examination for the course. Complete the following for EACH of the situations below:
Address the four (4) issues presented following a review of the Nebraska Rules of Professional Conduct.
Cite specific sections of the Rules and then make a recommendation for the appropriate outcome based upon your research of the outcomes of similar cases within your own jurisdiction.
Include in your answer a reflection upon the reason for regulating the specific behavior for the benefit of the client, the profession, the community, and other impacted constituents.
Situation #1:
Your best friend is a lawyer, too. You play golf with her every Saturday and your kids attend grade school together. Unfortunately, you discover that she is an addicted gambler and you strongly suspect that she is skimming funds from her clients to feed her addiction. What should you do?
Situation #2:
David, a tax lawyer in Hayseed, Nebraska for 20 years, has been asked, repeatedly, to advise the local food pantry on the tax advantages of corporate food donations in an effort to solicit more manufactured food products to feed the hungry. Citing his very busy docket, David has side-stepped this advice and referred them instead to Karen, another community lawyer with similar experience. It appears that David has never felt an obligation to provide counsel in similar situations, and he has even managed to avoid any court appointments for indigent defendants when called upon. What, if anything, can the local bar association do to encourage David to participate in community activity and appointed legal work?
Situation #3:
Kevin, a graduate of the Hopeful University School of Law, has never passed the bar exam in spite of three attempts. In an effort to feed himself and his family, Kevin has developed a software application with the trade name LegalBoom. Subscription to this app for a small fee enables the user to download boiler plate legal forms for a full range of legal services; from divorce and custody issues to contracts to complete tax services. Kevins software even has a service with which Kevin can modify specific legal documents for filing in different locations throughout the country. Nowhere on the LegalBoom app does it indicate that these services are provided by a practitioner in that jurisdiction. Is Kevin committing an ethical violation or, for that matter, any violation of the Code?
Situation #4:
Sarah represents the insurance company that insures Midwest Hospital, where Paul was undergoing a routine bypass surgery until something went terribly wrong. Sarah uncovers some evidence which indicates that the doctor performing the surgery was operating under the influence of some high-level pharmaceutical painkillers. Is she under an obligation to share that with the legal team representing Paul?
